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Category Archives: speed

In my recent post about reducing load time for iOS apps, I discussed the importance of a proper Default.png. In the past I’ve made my Default.png “splash screen” image manually from mock ups and screenshots from the simulator — it can be very tedious with mixed results.

There is another way.

Before I show you, you need to know something — it uses a private API function. What does that mean? You need to remove this code before you submit your app to the App Store or it will be rejected. Private APIs are functions not to be used by anyone but Apple. So without further ado:

That’s it. You should put this code somewhere in your viewDidLoad function before you load all (but after you load some) of your UI elements. You’ll have to be the judge of the appropriate timing. Once this function is run, it’ll store a PNG screenshot of your application in the following location:

I’m always thinking about how to make my apps run and load faster. It’s incredibly important, especially to your users. Earlier today I ran across a Twitter conversation (http://twitter.com/flyosity/status/239044820394471424) between a few guys I consider to be top notch: Sam Soffes, Jake Marsh and Mike Rundle. They were discussing best practices for getting your app loading speed down.

In his didFinishLaunching method, he performs only the most essential tasks and puts everything else in an async queue to run in the background without blocking the main thread. This frees the app up to get the UI and other elements rolling.